2009 MLS Playoff Preview

The 14th regular season of the MLS has concluded and its playoff time. Changes were made to the playoff structure this season so that the top two teams from each conference automatically got in, and then the next best four teams (regardless of conference) would be in. Each team played a total of 30 games this year and at the end the Columbus Crew won the MLS Supporters Shield for the second straight year. The Shield is given to the team with the best regular season record. Here is how the final MLS table looked:

Club		Pts	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
1	Columbus Crew (E1)	49	30	13	7	10	41	31	+10
2	Los Angeles Galaxy (W1)	48	30	12	6	12	36	31	+5
3	Houston Dynamo (W2)	48	30	13	8	9	39	29	+10
4	Seattle Sounders FC2	47	30	12	7	11	38	29	+9
5	Chicago Fire (E2)	45	30	11	7	12	39	34	+5
6	Chivas USA	45	30	13	11	6	34	31	+3
7	New England Revolution	42	30	11	10	9	33	37	−4
8	Real Salt Lake	40	30	11	12	7	43	35	+8
9	Colorado Rapids	40	30	10	10	10	42	38	+4
10	D.C. United	40	30	9	8	13	43	44	−1
11	FC Dallas	39	30	11	13	6	50	46	+4
12	Toronto FC1	39	30	10	11	9	37	46	−9
13	Kansas City Wizards	33	30	8	13	9	33	42	−9
14	San Jose Earthquakes	30	30	7	14	9	36	50	−14
15	New York Red Bulls	21	30	5	19	6	27	47	−20

It was an incredible tight race this year for the conference titles, as well as the final playoff spots. I think this goes to show that the MLS' strategy of a salary cap is paying off in good competition throughout the league. The playoffs this year the first round will feature 4 home and away series, with the aggregate goal total deciding the winner. It is important to note that the away goal rule is not in effect in the MLS. Then the semi-finals and the championship match will be decided in only 1 game a piece. The playoff bracket breaks down like this:

EAST

(1) Columbus Crew vs. (4) Real Salt Lake

(2) Chicago Fire vs. (3) New England Revolution

WEST

(1) Los Angeles Galaxy vs. (4) Chivas USA

(2) Houston Dynamo vs. (3) Seattle Sounders

Here are the game times and channels for the first leg match-ups (all times are ET).

Thursday:
- Houston Dynamo at Seattle Sounders - 10pm  - ESPN2HD

Saturday:
- Columbus Crew at Real Salt Lake - 6pm

Sunday: 
- Chicago Fire at New England Revolution - 2pm - FSC
- LA Galaxy at Chivas USA (They share the same stadium) - 5pm - EPSN2HD

Three of the first four games are on TV, a great time to jump into the MLS action if you haven't been following closely this season. Enjoy.